Fuel-supply mechanism for internal-combustion engines



El VI LI El Al FUEI. SUPPLY MECHANISM FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILEDIAIL 31 I9"- Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

UNITED STATES PA TENT OFFICE.

ELMER V. L. WILSON AND ELMER .A. WILSON, OF NILES, OHIO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

Application filed March 3, 1917. Serial No. 152,445.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, ELMER V. L. WILSON and ELMER A. VVILsON, citizens of the United States, residin at Niles, in the county of Trumbull and%tate of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fuel-Supply Mechanism for Internal-Combustion Engines; and we do hereby declare the following to be a. full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appert-ains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the. mechanism for supplying fuel to an internal combustion engine, having for its object to provide simple, and effective means whereby explosive engines may be driven by a relatively less volatile hydrocarbon, such as kerosene, or oils heavier than gasolene. N

Broadly stated, the invention comprises instrumentalities whereby an explosive engine may be started on a volatile fuel, such as gasolene, and thereafter a heavier oil than gasolene may be substituted for running the engine.

The practical form of the invention comprises a vaporizer tube of novel form which is heated by the exhaust gases of the engine, the vaporizer tube being employed in connection with an atomizer for the relatively less volatile hydrocarbons. Associated with the intake manifold of the engine is a fuel mixer of simple construct-ion and novel form into which may be introduced vapor fuel from the vaporizer tube, and also volatile fuel from a suitable source of supply, the mixer being provided with a suitable jet nozzle for the volatile fuel. The whole arrangement of the vaporizer, its atomizer and the fuel mixer chamber, being compact and of simple construction.

Other objects of the invention, and various features of novelty thereof will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the construction therein set forth is for the purpose of illustration only, and not as defining the limits of the invention.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through the intake and exhaust manifolds .fuel, which is used in conjunction with the vaporizer tube.

Fig. 4 is a detail view on enlarged scale of a portion of the vaporizer tube disclosmg the shape of the intake end thereof.

he invention is designed to be installed in connection with any type of explosive engine and to be used as a substitute for the ordinary carbureters for volatile hydrocarbon fuels. The engine may be started on a volatile hydrocarbon fuel, such as gasolene, and.

after the engine shall have become suflic1entlyheated,the vapor fuel mixture will be drawn principally or wholly from the less volatile fuel supply. Thereafter the fuel from the gasolene supply may be 'cut off and the engine run with the kerosene supply.

Referring more particularly to the embodiment of the invention in the drawings, the vaporizer tube 1 may be of any desired material and form, but it is preferred to make the tube flattened in cross section throughout most of its length, as indicated at 1 in Figure 4, while the ends of the tube may be cylindrical or approximately so as indicated at 2. The end portion 2 of the vaporizer, Fig. 1, should be 114 rly cylindrical but may be elliptical or o polygonal shape and of larger vapor carrying capacity than the flattened and comparatively thin portion 1 forming the body of the vaporizer, so that the atomized heavy oil, as kerosene, may have an opportunity to expand and mix with air as they are drawn in through the inlet 4. After expanding and mixing the combined'vapor and air are forced or drawn into the flat portion 1 of relatively less carrying capacity than the portion 2, but having the same or a greater heating surface. In passing through the 'narrow space the mixture of vapor and air The vaporizer tube 1 is mounted in the exhaust. manifold 3 to be heated by the exhaust gases from the engine, and to accomplish this purpose, the cylindrical end portions 2, 2, are preferably fixed in the end wallsof the manifold 3. This thin flat portion 1? of the vaporizer tube forming a film and presenting an effective heating surface, offers but little resistance to the flow of the exhaust gases through the manifold, and presents an effective heating surface for the mixed air and oil vapors, called vapor fuel, passing through the vaporizer.

At one, end of the vaporizer tube 1 is an atomizer which is shown provided with a charging inlet 4, having a reduced neck 5, and a flared mouth 6. The mouth 6 leads to the air inlet opening 7 for the atomizer, and adjacent this opening 7 is a fuel inlet nozzle 8, which may be positioned in a supply tube 9, Fig. 3, which connects the charging inlet 4 with a fuel supply chamber 10 for relatively heavy oil. The chamber 10 may be supplied with fuel of less volatility than gasoline, such as kerosene, or a hydrocarbon oil heavier than gasoline, from a reservoir 11, which may be remotely positioned, if found desirable, through a conductor pipe 12. A suitable valve 13 may be mounted in the pipe 12 whereby the chamber 10 may be filled with fluid up to a predetermined level, such valve" 13 being shown mounted on a valve stem 14 having a float 15 to automatically operate the valve 13. The flow of fuel through the nozzle 8 may be controlled by a needle valve 16, which is manually adjustable, or by any equivalent device.

The outletvend of the vaporizer'tube 1 opens also into a cylindrical portion 2, with which is connected a gas conducting tube 17, preferably positioned exterior of the exhaust manifold to carry the explosive mixture to a suitable mixing chamber 18 before passing into the intake manifold, indicated at 19.

The mixing chamber 18, may be of any suitable form, and is shown provided with a dome 20', having an air inlet port 21 Fig. 2 controlled by a spring actuated valve 22, the action of which may be adjusted by the thumb screw 23. Gases from the vaporizer tube 1 pass through the conducting tube 17 to the port 24 from which they are led into the mixing chamber 18. This mixing chamber has an exit port 25 which may lead directly into the intake manifold 19, and the passage of combustible substances through this port 25 may be controlled by the throttle 26 Fig. 2 which is'provided with any suitable means for manually operating the same.

Gasolene, or any other suitable volatile fuel may be admitted to the mixing device 18 through a passage 27 formed in the casing of the mixing chamber, which passage may open into the port 25 beyond the closed positionof the throttle 26, if found desirable. The volatile fuel may be supplied through a tube 28 from any suitable reservoir 29, which may be remotely positioned, if found desirable. The supply of fuel from the reservoir 29 may be controlled by a manually operated valve 30, and the amount of fuel to be admitted through the passage 27 may be conftrolled by the adjustable needle valve 31.

In operation, the engine is started by turning it over, either by hand power, or a power starting device, the suction of the engine causing the gasoline to be drawn through passage 27 into the mixer 18 where it is mixed with air drawn through port 7 and vaporizer 1, sufficient forthe operation of the engine up to a predetermined speed. With the additional air drawn in through the port 21, the gasoline spray is carried into the intake manifold 19 to be fed to the motor. With the first explosion of the engine, a certain amount of heavier fueloil will be drawn into the vaporizer through the atomizer along with the air which will be adrawn through port 7, and this mixture of air and heavier fuel will be passed through the vaporizer tube 1 where vaporization is effected and the vapor uniformly mixed with air to form vapor fuel.

As the small particles of the atomized fuel are first drawn along the vaporizer tube 1, the mixture is slightly compressed so that fine particles of oil vapor form on the wall of the vaporizer tube 1 which roll along the surface of the tube. This tube 1, being positioned in the path of the exhaust gases of the engine, becomes heated thereby and the hot tube quickly vaporizes the particles of fuel adhering to the wall of the tube and converts the fuel from a liquid into a gaseous state. After the vaporizer becomes heated, the finely atomized fuel becomes more subdivided or rarefied in its travel through the vaporizer tube. The air drawn into the tube through port 7 also becomes heated and is commingled with the gaseous fuel in the vaporizer and passes through the easy relief end 2 at the opposite end of the vaporizer tube, where the sudden release allows hot air and gas to expand and mingle as a light charge in the cylindrical portion 2 of the vaporizer, from which it is drawn through the gas conducting tube 17 into the port 24 of the mixer, and thence into the intake manifold 19 to be introduced through the intake ports of the engine. As the engine continues to run and to heat the vaporizer fuels of gasoline and kerosene, will be excessive in proportion to the amount of air,

which will'be indicated by the action of the engine. When this happens-the attendant may close the valve to permit the engine to run on heavier fuel.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the form and. proportion of the parts herein disclosed, and the right is reserved to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall Within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is:

1. In an internal combustion engine, the combination with intake and exhaust manifolds, of a vaporizer in the exhaust manifold and communicating with the intake manifold, saidvaporizer being approximately cylindrical at its inlet end and outlet end and flattened intermediate of said ends, means for atomizing fluid fuel and admitting air into one of said cylindrical ends at the entrance end of the exhaust manifold, whereby a mixed air and vapor fuel may be produced, and means to add atomized fuel to said fuel mixture after passing through the vaporizer.

2. In an internal combustion engine, the combination with the intake and exhaust manifolds, of a vaporizer having an inlet end of approximately cylindrical form, an

atomizing device having air and fluid inlets connecting with said end, a thin flattened vaporizer of substantially the same heating surface as said end, but of relatively less carrying capacity, located longitudinally in the exhaust manifold, said vaporizer connecting at its outlet end with the intake manifold, said intake manifold having an air inlet, and an automatic valve for said air inlet.

3. In an internal combustion engine, the combination with the intake and exhaust manifolds and an intermediate mixing chamber having an air inlet, of a vaporizer having an inlet end of approximately cylindrical form, an atomizing device having air and fluid inlets connecting with said end, a thin flattened vaporizer of substantially the same heating surface as said end, but of relatively less carrying capacity, located longitudinally in the exhaust manifold, said vaporizer connecting at its outlet end with the mixing chamber, .and said inlet manifold connecting with the mixing chamber.

In testimony whereof, we aflix our signatures, in presence of two witnesses.

ELMER V. L. WILSON. ELMER A. WVILSON. Witnesses:

ALLIE F. TAYLOR, GEO. J. TAYLOR. 

